Words can be either spoken, signed, or mimed, obviously. (Image via pinstake.com)
They say that music is a universal language. Well... it would seem that in addition to the music itself, we musicians have developed a language all our own.
1. Jam
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What it normally means: A fruit spread
What it means to musicians: A gathering a musicians where everybody plays together
2. Shed
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What it normally means: A creepy place behind your house where you store stuff
What it means to musicians: A slang term for practicing, or a place where you practice
3. Gig
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What it normally means: A temporary/one-off odd job
What it means to musicians: A live performance; your income
4. Cord/chord
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What it normally means: A cable that you plug into things
What it means to musicians: When you play three or more notes at the same time
5. Turn around
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What it normally means: To turn 180 degrees
What it means to musicians: The method/chords used to get from the end of the song back to the beginning
6. Vamp
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What it normally means: A scary, bloodsucking monster of the night
What it means to musicians: When you hang on one chord/progression indefinitely
7. Chart
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What it normally means: A graph that you use for business/work/studying/research
What it means to musicians: The music that you read on the gig
8. Cans
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What it normally means: A metal container for certain types of food
What it means to musicians: The large headphones you wear in the studio
9. String
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What it normally means: A piece of material used to hold things together
What it means to musicians: The part of your instrument that breaks most frequently
10. Time
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What it normally means: The time of day
What it means to musicians: What you desperately hope the drummer can keep
11. Changes
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What it normally means: The things that are different in the present/future from the past
What it means to musicians: The chord progression of a song
12. Board
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What it normally means: A plank of wood
What it means to musicians: What you hope the sound engineer actually knows how to use
13. Cover charge
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What it normally means: A pain in the butt
What it means to musicians: Part of what you need to survive
14. Reed
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What it normally means: A stalk-like plant
What it means to musicians: What you spend all of your money replacing, or all of your time making yourself
15. Wedding
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What it normally means: A beautiful celebration
What it means to musicians: A fat paycheck
Next up:
- 5 Things That Smart Musicians Do Every Day
- 6 Qualities That All Successful Musicians Have
- 8 Images That Perfectly Describe the Life of a Musician
- 10 Inspirational Quotes All Musicians Can Appreciate
Dylan Welsh is a freelance musician and music journalist, based in Seattle, WA. He currently plays in multiple Seattle bands, interns at Mirror Sound Studio, and writes for the Sonicbids blog. Visit his website for more information.
